Educational Tools -
The David A. Garfinkel Scholarship

Law Day was designated by President Eisenhower as a “day of national dedication to the principle of government under law.” In honor of the 50th Anniversary of Law Day, celebrated in 2008, The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York created the David A. Garfinkel Essay Contest. In 2015, this enriching academic opportunity evolved into the David A. Garfinkel Scholarship awarding the
New York State Community College Grand Prize, the CUNY Community College Prize and the SUNY Community College Prize.

2015 Scholarship Winners

The topic of this year's contest was LGBT: The Road to Equality. How have the New York Courts addressed equal human rights for the LGBT Community?

Court of Appeals Judge Rivera with the 2015 Garfinkel award winners.
L- R: Evan Eckfeld, SUNY Community College Prize Winner;
Jessica Cherry, New York State Community College Grand Prize Winner;
and Joshua Cruz, CUNY Community College Prize Winner.

2015 Honorable Mentions

Brooke Astarita, Queensborough Community College
Diana Benavidez, Queensborough Community College
Steve Brewer, Cayuga Community College
Christopher Chang, Queensborough Community College
Constance Eadie, Genesee Community College
Melanie Hecker, Hudson Valley Community College
Ferany Kumar, Queensborough Community College
Aaron Pakow, Kingsborough Community College
Vidisha Patel, Queensborough Community College
Cameron Vedder, Tompkins Cortland Community College
Avraham Weiss, Queensborough Community College